The album starts off with a raw solo acoustic piece called “Done Got Old”. A bit of a somber look at aging and experience, it fits Guy well, sounding authentic not only because of his age, but because his vocals are just full of the soul of a man who has really lived, capturing a little bit of the intensity the early blues artists had. The songs that follow are all electric, but still carry through the same authenticity that comes through in this opener and gives the entire album that extra little something.
It might sound slightly out of place sound wise being the only acoustic song, but it fits with the consistent feel of the album well. That feel is in the blues vein, but it is different than any other blues feel I've ever heard. “She's Got the Devil In Her”, “It's a Jungle Out There” and “Who's Been Foolin' You” are all close to traditional blues but have a darker, shadowy, rough feel that is difficult to describe. My two favorite songs off this album (although as always with great music, it is hard to pick) are good examples of what I mean by this “darkness”. “Baby Please Don't Leave Me” and “Stay All Night” are both slower slightly droning and hypnotic blues pieces with massively soulful lyrics with great guitar riffs. Both though, feel significantly darker than most of what has been done by say B.B. King, or heck, even Guy himself. They are dark, seductive and rich with soul, smoke and a late night aching. Both hint at something more mystic, with their echoing quality, but only hint and don't delve directly into that type of feel. Instead Guy stays rooted in the blues and using it to give the music a depth of style and soul that is just spine tinglingly dark.
That might be a good description for the album in a single phrase: spine tinglingly dark, or maybe dark and intense. Even more upbeat songs like “Look What All You Got” and “Who's Been Foolin You” have a just enough of this darkness and roughness to make them sound... smoky, like you're viewing them through the thick haze of the late night blues club. Yet not a classy “suit and tie” club, but something a little more seedy and raw, and it is this type of feel that is carried through the entire album.
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